But Ahmad, 41, who returned to the UK last July after being freed from prison in the US, has defended his actions, claiming they were the result of “naivety” rather than anything more sinister.

He claimed he had initially supported the Taliban because he wanted to see an Islamic society set up in Afghanistan.

Babar Ahmad was extradited to the US in 2012 after an eight-year legal fight, earlier admitted his role in operating Azzam Publications Photo: AP

But the Americans demanded his extradition after accusing him of supporting the group as it sheltered Bin Laden allowing him to plan the 9/11 attacks.

Speaking on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, he said: “I did it in good faith but, in hindsight, I regret doing that and it was naive of me to do that, because it was a complicated situation.”

Despite pleading guilty to the charges in a US court Ahmad told the BBC he was only “technically” guilty because he had not known at the time what Bin Laden or the Taliban were up to.

Asked how he viewed himself now, Ahmad said: “I view myself in the way the judge described me, she said, ‘he’s a good person, he’s not a risk to anyone and more importantly this man is not a terrorist’.”

The former computer expert from south London fought an eight year battle against extradition to the United States but was eventually flown there to stand trial in October 2012.

I did it in good faith but, in hindsight, I regret doing that and it was naive of me to do that, because it was a complicated situation

Babar Ahmad

He was sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison by a US judge, but taking into account the time he had served in the UK was released last July.

He used the BBC interview to urge young Muslims to resist attempts to coerce and bully them into following extreme paths.

“Don’t let anyone bully you that the only way to paradise is by bringing misery upon innocent people who have done nothing to you,” he said.